Download Behavioral Medicine Approaches to Somatoform Disorders

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
2002, Vol. 70, No. 3, 810 – 827
Copyright 2002 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.
0022-006X/02/$5.00 DOI: 10.1037//0022-006X.70.3.810
Behavioral Medicine Approaches to Somatoform Disorders
Karl J. Looper and Laurence J. Kirmayer
McGill University and Sir Mortimer B. Davis—Jewish General Hospital
This article reviews the research evidence for the efficacy of cognitive– behavioral therapy (CBT) for
somatoform disorders. Randomized controlled studies support the efficacy of individual CBT for the
treatment of hypochondriasis, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), and undifferentiated somatoform
disorders including medically unexplained symptoms, chronic fatigue syndrome, and noncardiac chest
pain, and group CBT for the treatment of BDD and somatization disorder. On the basis of this review of
the existing research and a theoretical model of the processes involved in somatoform disorders, the
authors offer suggestions for future research and effective treatment.
cal reassurance was provided but ineffective (hypochondriasis),
that the patient is excessively distressed by existing medical problems (BDD and somatization disorder), and that appropriate medical assessment has been done to exclude medical causes (all
somatoform disorders). All of these judgements involve implicit
norms for “illness behavior” that have been little studied (Kirmayer, 1999; Kirmayer & Robbins, 1991). The lack of objective
positive criteria results in diagnoses that are made primarily on the
basis of the exclusion of medical illness. This promotes “either/or”
thinking (psychological or medical, functional or organic) with the
attendant risk of overlooking treatable medical conditions that may
coexist with psychological distress.
Studies of primary care populations report relatively low rates of
patients meeting the full criteria for somatoform diagnoses such as
hypochondriasis and somatization disorder, but large numbers of
patients with clinically significant subthreshold variants of these
syndromes (Garcia-Campayo, Lobo, Perez-Echeverria, & Campos,
1998; Gureje, Simon, Üstün, & Goldberg, 1997; Gureje, Üstün, &
Simon, 1997; Kirmayer & Robbins, 1991). Two additional diagnoses are applied in these cases. Undifferentiated somatoform
disorder covers medically unexplained symptoms that have persisted for 6 months, and somatoform disorder not otherwise specified is intended to capture any other clinically significant somatoform problem. When used liberally, these diagnoses apply to a
broad range of patients in primary care, where medically unexplained symptoms account for approximately 25%–50% of patient
visits (Barsky & Borus, 1995). This points to a problem in the
clinical application of the somatoform diagnoses: The more precisely defined diagnoses do not describe the majority of the clinical cases seen in primary care, whereas the more diffuse residual
categories collect a vast array of disparate symptoms and syndromes. If there is any validity to the overarching category of
somatoform disorders, it is because the various problems involve
common processes of bodily preoccupation and symptom amplification. Thus, although the treatment research literature is structured around the discrete diagnoses, it is helpful to conceptualize
the clinical problem in terms of dimensions of illness cognition
and behavior.
The management of somatoform disorders poses particular challenges for clinicians. Patients with medically unexplained symptoms experience a high level of distress that often prompts re-
The somatoform disorders are a group of problems characterized by persistent bodily symptoms or concerns that cannot be
fully accounted for by a diagnosable disease (Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—Text Revision; DSM–IV–
TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000; World Health Organization [WHO], 1992). Hypochondriasis consists of persistent,
unfounded worry or conviction that one has a serious medical
illness despite adequate medical reassurance. Body dysmorphic
disorder (BDD) involves preoccupation with an imagined or exaggerated physical defect. Conversion disorder is characterized by
medically unexplained deficits or alterations of motor or sensory
function. Somatization disorder is a chronic condition consisting of
multiple medically unexplained bodily complaints occurring over
a prolonged period of time. Pain disorder simply involves the
persistence of medically unexplained pain symptoms.
To a large extent, the category of somatoform disorders reflects
the structure of biomedical health care systems, in which psychological practitioners are called on to diagnose and work with
patients for whom there are no clear-cut medical diagnoses and
treatment. Somatoform disorders are often assumed to result from
psychological processes. However, the mechanisms of symptom
generation or amplification generally cannot be directly observed
but only inferred from the patient’s history, illness behavior, and
social circumstances. Diagnostic criteria call for the clinician to
establish that psychological factors are associated with the onset of
the disorder (conversion disorder), that the patient is misinterpreting physical symptoms (hypochondriasis), that appropriate medi-
Karl J. Looper and Laurence J. Kirmayer, Division of Social and
Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
and the Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Culture and Mental
Health Research Unit, Sir Mortimer B. Davis—Jewish General Hospital,
Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
We thank Ian Shrier and the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and
Community Studies of the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research for
help with the analysis of data.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Karl J.
Looper, Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Culture and Mental Health Research Unit, Sir Mortimer B. Davis—Jewish General Hospital, 4333 Chemin de la Côte Sainte Catherine, Montreal, Quebec H37 1E4,
Canada. E-mail: [email protected]
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SPECIAL ISSUE: APPROACHES TO SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
peated requests for medical care. The physician’s initial concern
tends to be that of ruling out treatable medical conditions, and
when none are found, the physician shifts to containing “ excessive” help-seeking behavior. This shift often is associated with a
deterioration in the doctor–patient relationship, as patients sense
the clinician has lost interest in them or views them as vexatious
(Kirmayer, 1994). Although many clinicians are eager to refer
patients for psychological and psychiatric treatment, patients may
see the act of referral itself as calling into question the bodily
reality of their symptoms and disability and conferring the stigma
of having a psychiatric condition (Kirmayer, 1988). If they accept
the referral, patients may find the initial focus of conventional
psychological treatments as incongruent with their own perception
of being medically ill (Kirmayer, 2000).
This challenge has spurred the development of treatment approaches for patients with somatoform disorders that meet the
different and occasionally conflicting demands of the patient and
referring clinician. The methods of behavioral medicine and symptom focused cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) may be particularly suitable for the treatment of somatoform disorders, as they
need not assume a psychological etiology of the illness and tend to
be acceptable to patients when presented as means of coping with
physical problems. Engaging patients in psychological treatment
and maintaining a therapeutic alliance is most likely to succeed in
the context of a close collaboration between the therapist and
medical professionals and the validation of the patient’s experience of physical distress, including ongoing medical management.
Providing treatment in a medical setting or in the context of
“ shared-care” may facilitate this alliance.
In this article, we present a model of the mechanisms involved
in the production and maintenance of somatoform symptoms,
along with corresponding treatment interventions. We then review
the treatment studies of CBT for each of the somatoform disorders,
with the exception of pain disorder, and somatoform disorder not
otherwise specified, which is rarely the focus of research due to the
great heterogeneity within the diagnostic group. This review is
structured around the best evidence available for the use of CBT in
each disorder. Although the size of the literature does not yet
warrant a formal meta-analysis, to give a sense of the strength of
the findings, we calculated effect sizes. On the basis of the theoretical model and our review of the existing research, we offer
suggestions for future research directions in somatoform disorders.
We identified cognitive–behavioral treatment studies (1970 to
February 2001) of somatoform disorders with computerized
searches of Medline (http://gateway1.ovid.com) and PsycINFO)
(http://spider.apa.org/psycinfo/) using the intersection of search
words for diagnosis (somatoform disorders, hypochondriasis, hypochondriacal disorder, BDD, dysmorphophobia, conversion disorder, somatization disorder, undifferentiated somatoform disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, noncardiac chest pain, and cardiac
neurosis), and relevant treatments (CBT, cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy), which were augmented by searches of the reference
lists of relevant articles. Where studies exist, we based our disorder
specific review on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that included a no-treatment or attention control. When RCTs were not
available, we reviewed the treatment approaches and outcomes of
single cohort studies.
We calculated effect sizes for RCTs using the primary outcome
measure. Where more than one primary outcome measure was
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available, we selected an objective measure administered by a
blind or independent rater. Analysis was carried out with Review
Manager 4.0 software (Review Manager, 1999). Treatment effect
sizes were calculated as the standardized mean difference of continuous outcome measures, based on the post-treatment means and
standard deviations, and odds ratios for dichotomous measures,
using a random effects model. Summary effect sizes were calculated where at least three comparisons were available.
The interpretation of the magnitude of the effect sizes was based
on the convention suggested by Cohen (1988) that identifies 0.2 as
a small effect size, 0.5 as medium, and 0.8 as large. We used the
criteria of Chambless and Hollon (1998) as a guide to decide if
CBT was effective for the treatment of each somatoform disorder
reviewed. This requires at least two supporting RCTs of good
methodological quality for a designation of effective, and one for
a designation of possibly effective.
Mechanisms and Interventions
Figure 1 outlines a model of perceptual, cognitive, and interactional processes that may contribute to somatic distress (Kirmayer
& Taillefer, 1997), with corresponding treatment strategies that
address specific processes or feedback loops. Physiological disturbance may be produced by new or chronic medical problems, as
well as bodily sensations that arise from perturbations that are part
of daily living. The amount of attention that is focused on the body
will give rise to varying degrees of awareness of these physical
sensations (Hanback & Revelle, 1978; Hansell & Mechanic,
1986). Once specific bodily sensations enter into awareness, the
evaluation of their relative importance and dangerousness may be
amplified (Barsky, Goodson, Lane, & Cleary, 1988; Hitchcock &
Mathews, 1992). This may occur through patterns of attribution
favoring illness interpretations rather than benign causes (Haenen,
de Jong, Schmidt, Stevens, & Visser, 2000; MacLeod, Haynes, &
Sensky, 1998; Robbins & Kirmayer, 1991; Sensky, MacLeod, &
Rigby, 1996), cognitive distortions, and schemas of vulnerability
based on developmental and past illness experiences (Barsky,
Coeytaux, Sarnie, & Cleary, 1993; Cox, Borger, Asmundson, &
Taylor, 2000; Parker & Lipscombe, 1980). Cognitive and emotional reactions to physical sensations prompt illness behaviors of
help-seeking and reassurance-seeking. Avoidance behaviors limit
social and occupational activity and may cause further functional
limitations through physical deconditioning. The interpersonal,
family, and social environment of the individual may have the
effect of reinforcing these patterns, or promoting recovery (Kirmayer, 1999; Kirmayer & Young, 1998; Lippel, 1999; McDaniel,
Hepworth, & Doherty, 1995). The various psychological and social mechanisms may in turn increase physiological reactivity
(Grambling, Clawson, & McDonald, 1996). Although these mechanisms are presented in a linear fashion with only a few feedback
loops indicated, their interaction may be much more complex with
multiple pathways and feedback loops that contribute to symptom
modulation or runaway amplification.
Treatment interventions may be selected to address the various
mechanisms involved in the production and maintenance of somatoform symptoms. Medical treatments focused on symptom
management decrease physiological disturbance, whereas psychopharmacological treatments address emotional disturbance and
comorbid psychiatric symptoms. Relaxation, biofeedback, and
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LOOPER AND KIRMAYER
Figure 1. Mechanisms underlying somatoform symptoms and corresponding treatment interventions.
stress management also have a role in reducing physiological and
emotional arousal. Specific perceptual and attentional processes
may be the focus of psychological interventions, such as attention
training, the use of distraction, hypnosis, or environmental manipulations that decrease the focus of attention on the body and
awareness of physiological disturbance.
Cognitive restructuring involves modifying automatic thoughts
and distortions of perceived physical sensations and reattributing
sensations to ordinary events rather than pathological causes. Cognitive strategies may also address past illness experiences, learned
patterns, and schemas related to personal and family developmental issues. Behavioral techniques are directed at illness behaviors
such as help-seeking, avoidance, and disability. This may include
graded increases in activity to promote a return to previous functional ability, desensitization, and exposure techniques to treat
phobic avoidance, and response prevention to diminish maladaptive responses to distressing thoughts and situations.
Treatment strategies may also be directed at the social environment, such as consultations to physicians to advise them on how to
structure treatment programs in anticipation of the needs of the
patient and validate the patient’ s experience without reinforcing
illness preoccupation. The involvement of significant others and
family members is helpful in modifying interpersonal and environmental contingencies that contribute to the maintenance of
illness. Social systems that need to be considered include working
conditions, disability policies, and the compensation process that
may inadvertently reinforce the sick role, if for example they lack
the flexibility to accommodate brief periods of disability or a
gradual return to work.
This model suggests the value of a comprehensive clinical
assessment that identifies interacting mechanisms involved in
symptom formation and maintenance. It also supports a multimodal treatment strategy including interventions directed at the most
active mechanisms involved in generating symptoms, and to in-
SPECIAL ISSUE: APPROACHES TO SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
terrupt feedback loops that tend to maintain and reinforce the
condition.
Hypochondriasis
The essential feature of hypochondriasis is a fear or conviction
of having a serious illness despite receiving the appropriate medical assessment, and reassurance that the disease has been ruled out
(DSM–IV–TR; WHO, 1992). The diagnosis is made when the
symptoms have persisted for at least 6 months. The full syndrome
of hypochondriasis is uncommon, with a prevalence of about 0.2%
in a community survey (Looper & Kirmayer, 2001) and 0.8% in a
large international study in primary care (Gureje, Üstün, & Simon,
1997). Other studies using different criteria to identify clinically
significant cases reported rates ranging from 3% to 9% in primary
care or medical settings (Escobar et al., 1998; Kirmayer & Robbins, 1991; Kellner, 1983). Many patients in primary care present
with acute hypochondriacal concerns that resolve spontaneously or
with physician reassurance (Barksy et al., 1993; Kirmayer &
Looper, 2001). Patients with such transient hypochondrasis tend to
have less psychiatric comorbidity and may be responding with
health anxiety to changes in their physical health or to life events
(Barsky, Wyshak, & Klerman, 1990; Robbins, & Kirmayer, 1996).
Although the diagnosis of hypochondriasis requires that patients
have received adequate reassurance, this is not always the case.
Consequently, the treatment of hypochondriasis may begin with
the provision of effective reassurance (Starcevic, 1991). Explanatory therapy (Kellner, 1982, 1983; Kellner & Sheffield, 1971),
provides this by assessing the patient’ s illness beliefs, explaining
the role of selective perception in the development of illness fears,
and modifying misinterpretations of bodily sensations. This approach was tested in a waitlist control study of 20 patients with
hypochondriasis diagnosed according to the DSM–IV (4th ed.;
American Psychiatric Association, 1994; Fava, Grandi, Rafanelli,
Fabbri, & Cazzaro, 2000). The group was treated with eight
sessions of explanatory therapy and had a large symptomatic
improvement as measured by the Illness Attitudes Scale (IAS;
Kellner, 1986), with a posttreatment effect size of 1.42. Improvements in general psychological symptoms, illness behavior, and
health care use were also observed, including a 50% reduction of
physician visits, compared with no significant change in the waitlist control group, measured by blind raters. The changes seen in
the treatment group were maintained at 6-months follow-up.
Other treatment approaches combine cognitive strategies similar
to those used in explanatory therapy, with behavioral techniques to
address illness behaviors commonly seen in patients with hypochondriasis. These include behavioral experiments in which innocuous symptoms are induced by deliberate bodily focusing to facilitate reattribution, graded exposure to address avoidance
behaviors, and response prevention for repeated bodily checking,
and repetitive reassurance seeking. Two randomized controlled
studies have investigated the effect of this type of CBT. Warwick,
Clark, Cobb, and Salkovskis (1996) randomized 32 patients with
hypochondriasis diagnosed with the Structured Clinical Interview
for the DSM–III–R (SCID–III–R; Spitzer & Williams, 1986) to
CBT or a waitlist control. The therapy was conducted in 16
individual sessions over 4 months. Global problem severity, as
measured by blind raters on a visual analogue scale, improved by
76% in the CBT group compared with 5% in the control group
813
(effect size 1.67), which was maintained at 3-months follow-up.
Self-report scales indicated greater improvements in mood and
anxiety symptoms in the treatment group. Clark et al. (1998)
compared CBT treatment with stress-management therapy and a
waitlist control in a randomized trial of 48 patients with hypochondriasis based on the SCID–III–R. The CBT treatment was as
previously described, with the addition of up to three booster
sessions. Stress management involved 10 sessions of relaxation
training, exposure, and desensitization to anxiety evoking situations, and the teaching of problem-solving skills. Independent
assessors using a visual analogue scale of distress and disability
due to health worry found a large improvement in each treatment
group compared with the waitlist control, with effect sizes of 1.98
and 1.57 for CBT and stress-management therapy, respectively,
compared to the control group. Greater reductions occurred in
self-report scales of mood and anxiety in the treated groups compared with the controls. There was a small significant advantage of
CBT as compared with stress management posttreatment. However, as the follow-up progressed, the differences between treatment groups diminished and were comparable at 12-months
posttreatment.
Visser and Bouman (2001) also investigated different treatment
approaches in a study of 78 patients diagnosed with hypochondriasis based on a structured interview. Subjects were randomly
assigned to 12 weekly sessions of predominantly cognitive therapy
(including behavioral experimentation), exposure and response
prevention (ERP), or a waitlist control group. Moderate to large
effects were seen for each treatment compared with the waitlist
control, on the health anxiety score of the self-report Illness
Attitudes Scale, with effect sizes of 1.31 and 0.69 for CBT and
ERP, respectively. Although Visser and Bouman noted a nonsignificant trend of greater benefit in the patients receiving cognitive
therapy as compared with behavioral stress management, the results of this study must be viewed with caution because of possible
bias of a large number of dropouts that were not included in the
analysis. An earlier, smaller study by the same authors did not find
any differential treatment effect between cognitive and behavioral
treatments (Bouman & Visser, 1998).
A group CBT treatment of hypochondriasis has been developed
by Barsky, Geringer, and Wool (1988). This six-session treatment
involves reducing the amplification of somatic symptoms through
education regarding the role of attention, attribution, and stress in
the development of the disorder. Relaxation and attention exercises
are used to demonstrate and change patterns of amplification. This
treatment approach was compared with a waitlist control group in
a study of 14 patients (Avia et al., 1996), only 8 of which fulfilled
standardized criteria for hypochondriasis. This study found significant reductions in illness fears and attitudes, somatic symptoms,
and dysfunctional beliefs between the treatment and control
groups.
In summary, as seen in Table 1, there is evidence from four
RCTs that relatively brief individual CBT can be an effective
treatment of hypochondriasis. The posttreatment effect sizes were
of medium to large magnitude, ranging from 0.51 to 1.72, with an
overall effect of 1.43 (see Table 1). These studies also noted
improvements in mood and anxiety symptoms, and one observed
a decrease in health care use (Fava et al., 2000), however, no
studies investigated changes in physical functioning. Control
groups were not available at follow-up, but reassessments of
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LOOPER AND KIRMAYER
Table 1
Randomized Controlled Trials of Individual Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Hypochondriasis
Sessions/
duration
Author
N
Intervention and control groups
Fava et al.,
2000
20
8/30 min
Warwick et al.,
1996
32
1. ET: education, reassurance,
reattribution, attention
exercises
2. WL
1. CBT: cognitive restructuring,
ERP
2. WL
Clark et al.,
1998
48
Visser &
Bouman,
2001
56
Measure/
raters
Dropouts (analysis)
Follow-up
Self-report
2 CBT
1 WL (all included)
6 months
16
Blind rater
1 CBT (included)
3 months
1. CBT: cognitive restructuring,
ERP
2. SMT: including relaxation,
problem solving
3. WL
16/60 min
Blind rater
1 CBT (included)
1 SMT (excluded)
12 months
1. CBT: cognitive restructuring,
behavioral experimentation
2. ERP
3. WL
12/60 min
Self-report
22 (excluded or
group changed)
30 weeks
Outcome: Standardized
mean difference [95% CI]
Posttreatment: 1.42
[0.41–2.42]
Improvement with ET
Maintained at follow-up
Posttreatment: 1.67
[0.85–2.49]
Improvement with CBT
maintained at
follow-up
Posttreatment:
CBT 1.98
[1.15–2.82]
SMT 1.57
[0.81–2.34]
Improvement maintained
in CBT and SMT at
follow-up
Posttreatment:
CBT 1.31
[0.47–2.14]
ERP 0.69
[0.08–1.46]
Improvement maintained
in ERP and CBT at
follow-up
Note. Overall standardized mean difference [95% CI] 1.43 [1.06 –1.79]; test of homogeneity: 2(5) 5.78, p .03. ET explanatory therapy; WL waitlist; ERP exposure and response prevention; SMT stress management therapy; CI confidence interval.
treatment groups demonstrated that improvements were maintained. Although none of the studies reported the use of an explicit
manual, all treatment techniques were well described and two
studies verified treatment adherence with audio-taped sessions
(Clark et al., 1998; Visser & Bouman, 2001). Dropouts were
accounted for or minimal in three studies whereas one had a large
number of dropouts that were not accounted for in the data analysis
(Visser & Bouman, 2001).
There may be a greater benefit with symptom-focused strategies
as opposed to general stress management (Clark et al., 1998), and
a small advantage of cognitive interventions as compared with
behavioral (Visser & Bouman, 2001). However, these differences
can not be clearly established by the existing research due to small
sample sizes, lack of replication of results, and the overlap between treatments in the studies comparing predominantly cognitive approaches with behavioral approaches. Careful evaluation of
particular illness features may find specific treatment effects of
different interventions, such as greater effectiveness of ERP for
avoidance behaviors, and cognitive strategies for illness worry.
Future studies comparing individual CBT with attention control
groups are required to confirm that the effect is due to the particular CBT treatment and not due to nonspecific effects such as
attention. The effectiveness of group CBT for hypochondriasis
needs to be confirmed by a randomized controlled study with a
larger sample size.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
BDD is characterized by a preoccupation with an imagined
defect in appearance that results in distress and impairment of
functioning. In cases where a physical anomaly is present, the
preoccupation must be markedly excessive (DSM–IV–TR). The
International Classification of Diseases (ICD–10) classification
system places BDD as a subtype of hypochondriacal disorder
(World Health Organization, 1992). The focus of the patient’ s
concern is usually an aspect of the face or head but may involve
any area of the body, multiple body parts, or the overall shape and
size of the body (Phillips, McElroy, Keck, Pope, & Hudson, 1993).
Mood, anxiety, and personality disorders are common in patients
with BDD (Veale, Boocock, et al., 1996). Although approximately
a third of cases in one study fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for
obsessive compulsive disorder (Phillips et al., 1993), this is only
given as a comorbid diagnosis if the obsessions and compulsions
involve other themes than a preoccupation with the body. The
range of insight into the imagined defect and excessive concern
varies widely including an extreme at which the additional diagnosis of delusional disorder, somatic type, is applied (Phillips &
McElroy, 1993). Patients with BDD tend to not present spontaneously to mental health professionals, but are often referred by
primary care physicians, surgeons, and specialists who identify
patients displaying excessive distress and pursuit of interventions
for a subjectively perceived defect.
Two studies have compared CBT with no-treatment control
groups. Butters and Cash (1987) randomly assigned 32 female
subjects with body-image dissatisfaction to receive either CBT or
waitlist. Subjects were identified by a score below the 25th percentile of the Body–Self Relations Questionnaire (BSRQ; Winstead & Cash, 1984) Appearance Evaluation, but having a weight
within 25% of the median desirable weight for height. Therapy
SPECIAL ISSUE: APPROACHES TO SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
consisted of six highly structured sessions that began with education, progressive muscle relaxation, and imagery. This was followed by systemic desensitization by first visualizing then exposing themselves to images of the areas of their body that evoke
distress. Finally, cognitive strategies were used, which included
monitoring and correcting automatic thoughts. The size of the
treatment effect was 1.34, based on the BSRQ. This improvement
was maintained in the CBT group at 7-weeks follow-up. In the
second study, Veale, Gournay, et al. (1996) randomly assigned 19
subjects with BDD, diagnosed with a structured interview— the
Body Dysmorphic Disorder Examination (BDDE; Rosen & Reiter,
1996)— to CBT or a waitlist control group. In this study, patients
with general body image or weight dissatisfaction were excluded.
Treatment strategies included attentional training to shift attention
away from self-observation, response prevention to inhibit compulsive body checking in reflective surfaces, and cognitive restructuring including challenging underlying assumptions and developing alternative beliefs about appearance. After 12 sessions of CBT,
the treatment effect was 2.65, as measured on the BDDE by
nonblind raters, and 7 of 9 patients treated with CBT no longer met
the criteria for the diagnosis (Veale, Gournay, et al., 1996). Treated
subjects improved in subjective ratings of depression but not
anxiety, and no changes occurred in these measures in the control
group.
Different therapeutic approaches were compared with no treatment in a randomized controlled study of 79 subjects with body
image problems (Dworkin & Kerr, 1987). The treatments involved
three 30-min sessions of (a) cognitive therapy, consisting of identifying and changing negative automatic thoughts, (b) CBT, which,
in addition to the first treatment, included self-reinforcement exercises, and (c) reflective therapy, which explored body image
over the course of developmental periods. All three active treatments produced statistically better results compared with the control group, and cognitive therapy was statistically better than the
other treatments. However, the magnitude of the change and its
clinical significance is difficult to assess from the reported data.
Many therapists make use of booster sessions to reinforce or
prolong the effect of therapy. This was investigated in a study that
randomized 10 subjects with BDD to a maintenance program or
none after completing 4 weeks of daily behavioral therapy
(McKay, 1999). The program consisted of education regarding
relapse prevention and 6 months of brief biweekly therapist contact to review behavioral exercises. Improvements in BDD symptoms were sustained in both groups over the 2-year follow-up
period, however patients in the maintenance program continued to
improve in mood and anxiety symptoms and experienced fewer
relapses over this time. This study offers support for the use of
maintenance therapy, but was carried out in a setting of intensive
treatment, and thus, may not be generalizable to CBT carried out
in the usual weekly or biweekly schedule.
Group CBT for BDD has been compared with no-treatment and
attention controls by Rosen and colleagues (Rosen, Reiser, &
Orosan, 1995; Rosen, Saltzberg, & Srebnik, 1989). In the comparison with no-treatment, 54 subjects were diagnosed based on the
BDDE structured interview and randomized to either group (Rosen
et al., 1995). CBT, following a treatment manual, was carried out
in small groups of 4 –5 subjects, over eight 2-hr sessions. Strategies included education, providing objective evidence to correct
body image distortions, identifying and modifying intrusive
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thoughts, relaxation, exposure by imagining and then viewing their
body in the mirror, exposure to social settings in which they fear
being observed, and response prevention. This intervention produced a treatment effect of 2.26 on the BDDE assessed by blind
raters, and led to the remission of diagnosis in 82% of the treated
group, compared with no significant improvement in a notreatment control group. The remission persisted in 77% of subjects from the treatment group after 2 months. Treated subjects
also improved in measures of self-esteem and general psychological functioning compared with the control group. In the comparison study involving the attention control (Rosen et al., 1989),
subjects of normal weight with negative body image were identified by a score of one standard deviation above the mean on the
Body Shape Questionnaire (Cooper, Taylor, Cooper, & Fairburn,
1987). Twenty-three subjects were then randomized to six 2-hr
sessions of group CBT using similar therapeutic techniques guided
by a manual as in the other study, or to an “ attention” group
receiving only education and support (Rosen et al., 1989). The
effect of CBT, based on the self-report Body Shape Questionnaire,
was 1.62 at posttreatment and 0.83 at 2-months follow-up. In a
third study, Rosen, Cado, Silberg, Srebnik, and Wendt (1990)
investigated the role of size perception training, which involved
structured exercises to modify the perceptual aspect of the negative
body image. In a randomized design, the investigators assigned 23
women with body image disturbance to 6 weeks of small group
CBT with or without the body perception training. Both groups
improved on measures of body image, but no differences were
seen between groups. This may be because both groups had
cognitive restructuring to address cognitive distortions about appearance, which might correct body perception without the specific exercises.
Only one study has compared group with individual CBT (Grant
& Cash, 1995), the latter consisted of predominantly self-directed
therapy with modest contact with a nontherapist assistant. In this
study, 23 subjects of normal weight reporting body dissatisfaction
on the Appearance Evaluation Scale (Cash, Winstead, & Janda,
1986) were randomly assigned to 4 months of weekly group or
self-directed CBT. Both conditions followed a highly structured
program using a variety of cognitive and behavioral strategies,
aided by cassettes and a workbook (Cash, 1991). The CBT group
had eight, weekly 90-min sessions with a therapist in group format,
whereas subjects in the self-directed CBT treatment met individually for eight, weekly 30-min sessions with nontherapist assistants. Sessions were similar in preparing and reviewing homework
assignments, but in addition, the CBT group reviewed daily experiences, using therapeutic techniques of behavioral rehearsal, modeling, and active problem solving. Both treatments led to significant improvements on symptomatic measures of BDD and
depression, which were maintained at 2-months follow-up, but no
differential treatment effect was observed between the two therapies. This study demonstrates an alternative to conventional models of therapy delivery, which in this case relies on supported
self-directed learning.
In summary, there is evidence from randomized controlled
studies that CBT administered in individual or group format is an
effective treatment for BDD. Three RCTs involved subjects that
predominantly expressed concern over their overall body shape
and weight (Butters & Cash, 1987; Rosen et al., 1989, 1995), two
of which (Butters & Cash, 1987; Rosen et al., 1989) identified
816
LOOPER AND KIRMAYER
subjects using psychological measures as opposed to the specific
DSM or ICD–10 diagnostic criteria. These studies were nonetheless reviewed together, as their inclusion and exclusion criteria
appeared to fit those of the DSM and ICD–10 guidelines. Furthermore, the remaining study (Veale, Gournay, et al., 1996) excluded
subjects whose concern was focused on their overall body shape or
weight in favor of those concerned with a specific body part.
Diagnostic criteria do not differentiate these groups of patients,
although they may have different patterns of illness cognitions and
behavior.
A large magnitude of effect was seen in all four RCT studies,
ranging from 1.34 to 2.65 (see Table 2), based on measures of
symptom severity. Other outcomes such as health care use and
physical functioning were not assessed in these studies. Improvements were maintained on follow-up in the active treatment groups
of three studies (Butters & Cash, 1987; Rosen et al., 1989, 1995).
In the one study that assessed the control group at the time of
follow-up, the effect was diminished but remained substantial
(Rosen et al., 1989). On the basis of this treatment literature, we
conclude that both individual and group CBT are efficacious for
the treatment of BDD. In addition, the study comparing group
CBT with an attention group (Rosen et al., 1989) supports the
possibility of a specific effect of this treatment in BDD.
Conversion Disorder
The predominant symptom in conversion disorder is a medically
unexplained impairment of motor or sensory function that is suggestive of a neurological or medical illness (DSM–IV–TR). The
deficit is presumed to be related to a psychological process when
psychological or social stress is associated with the onset or
exacerbation of the problem. In contrast to the classification system of the DSM–IV–TR, the WHO (1992) identifies conversion as
a dissociative disorder in which the loss of control over sensory
and motor functions results from dissociation due to psychological
conflict or distress (WHO, 1992). Conversion disorder is rare in
most North American community populations where prevalence
reports range from 11 to 31 per 100,000 (Escobar et al., 1987;
Stefansson, Messina, & Meyerwitz, 1976; Tomasson, Kent, &
Coryell, 1991), but more common in medical settings where it has
been reported as 0.7% (C. G. Smith, Clarke, Handrinos, Dunsis, &
McKenzie, 2000) and 5% (Folks, Ford, & Regan, 1984) of patients. Both the DSM and WHO provide separate diagnostic subcategories for motor symptoms, sensory abnormalities, seizures,
and various combinations. The most common motoric presentations are weakness or paralysis, muscular spasm, dysphagia, and
involuntary movements. Typical sensory manifestations are paresthesia or anesthesia, aphonia, and visual disturbance. Other
pseudoneurological presentations include dyspnea, vomiting, syncope, and stupor (Folks et al., 1984; Hafeiz, 1980; Pu, Mohamed,
Imam, & El-Roey, 1986; Tomasson et al., 1991).
The diagnosis of conversion disorder is usually made by the
exclusion of possible medical causes, which has the inherent risk
of giving a false positive diagnosis when an important medical
process is overlooked. Early studies reported a high rate of undetected neurological disease (Gatfield & Guze, 1962; Watson &
Buranen, 1979) whereas more recent studies report lower rates
Table 2
Randomized Controlled Trials of Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Author
N
Study population, intervention and
control groups
Sessions/
duration
Measure/
raters
Dropouts
(analysis)
Follow-up
Outcome: standardized
mean difference [95% CI]
Individual therapy studies
Butters & Cash,
1987a
32
Veale, Gournay,
et al., 1996
19
Rosen et al.,
1995
54
Rosen et al.,
1989a
23
Female, with negative body image
1. CBT: education, relaxation,
desensitization, cognitive
restructuring
2. WL
Excludes overall shape or weight
dissatisfaction
1. CBT: attention training,
cognitive restructuring,
response prevention
2. WL
6/60 min
Self-report
1 CBT
(excluded)
7 weeks
Posttreatment: 1.34
[0.55–2.13]
Improvement with CBT
maintained at follow-up
12
Nonblind/
observer
rated
0
0
Posttreatment: 2.65
[1.34–3.95]
Group therapy studies
Mixture
1. CBT: cognitive restructuring,
exposure, response
prevention
2. NT
Negative body image
1. CBT: cognitive restructuring,
exposure and response
prevention
2. AC
8/2 hr
Blind raters
0
4.5 months
Posttreatment: 2.26
[1.57–2.95]
Improvement with CBT
maintained at follow-up
6/2 hr
Self-report
0
2 months
Posttreatment: 1.62
[0.65–2.59]
Follow-up: 0.83
[0.03–1.70]
Note. CI confidence interval; WL waitlist; NT no treatment; AC attention control.
a
Subjects with negative body image and body weight in normal range (within 25% above or below median for height).
817
SPECIAL ISSUE: APPROACHES TO SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
(Kent, Tomasson, & Coryell, 1995; Lewis, 1982). This decrease in
reported rates of misdiagnosis may be due to changes in diagnostic
practice, the better characterization of rare neurological syndromes, advances in diagnostic technology, and a greater awareness of the problem (Ron, 2001).
The literature on the treatment of conversion disorder is seriously limited by the absence of randomized controlled studies.
Trieschman, Stolov, and Montgomery (1970) described a behavioral approach for patients hospitalized for abnormal ambulation
due to conversion disorder. This consisted of stepwise increases in
ambulation through specific exercises, and behavioral reinforcement in which improvements were responded to with praise and
privileges, whereas all reinforcement of the abnormal gait pattern
(i.e., attention and discussion) was removed. The treatment program also included stress management counseling to prevent the
recurrence of the abnormal gait, which was understood as a maladaptive response to stress. A recent report describes the outcome
of this treatment on 10 consecutive patients hospitalized with
conversion disorder affecting their gait (Speed, 1996). All cases
achieved normal ambulation after a mean of 12 days, which was
maintained in 7 of 9 subjects available for follow-up after a mean
of 23.6 months. Several other authors have reported on the outcome of hospitalized patients with motor conversion using similar
treatments. In one case series, 6 patients regained ambulation after
a mean of 41 days and maintained this improvement after a
follow-up period of 10 months (Delargy, Peatfield, & Burt, 1986).
The only controlled treatment study was done by Dickes (1974),
who treated 16 patients with motor or sensory conversion with
either the usual inpatient treatment or a strict behavioral program
where privileges were earned by increased ambulation. The behavioral program was successful in removing conversion symptoms 90% of the time compared with 45% for the usual treatment.
Hypnosis has been described for the treatment of hospitalized
and nonhospitalized conversion disorder patients (Oakley, 2001).
Moene, Hoogduin, and Van Dyck (1998) reported on 8 patients
with motor conversion disorder treated with a combination of
physiotherapy, hypnosis, individual and group problem-solving
therapy. Excluding one dropout, 6 of 7 patients had recovered at
discharge, and 5 remained well after 6 months of follow-up. Hafeiz
(1980) reported the outcome of 61 nonhospitalized patients with
motor, sensory, or seizure conversion disorder treated with a
combination of hypnosis and several somatic treatments. Of 61
patients, all had an initial improvement that was maintained in 45
of 57 patients followed over 12 months.
Other treatments have been investigated in small case series and
case reports. These recommend the use of electromyographic
biofeedback (Fishbain et al., 1988), behavioral reinforcement combined with strategic “ double bind” therapy (Silver, 1996; Teasell &
Shapiro, 1994), hypnosis combined with lorazepam (Stevens,
1990), and amobarbital interviewing (Hurwitz, 1988; Stiebel &
Kirby, 1994). There are also case series reports of successful
treatment with strategic family therapy of pseudoseizures and
other conversion symptoms (Griffith, Polles, & Griffith, 1989).
The literature on the treatment of conversion disorder emphasizes physical therapy combined with behavioral reinforcement
strategies, stress management or problem solving, and the use of
hypnosis (see Table 3). These reports suggest that CBT may be
effective, however, sample sizes were small, interventions were
often only generally described, only one study had a comparison
group (Dickes, 1974), and only one study used a standardized scale
to measure change (Speed, 1996). Most reports of behavioral
management have focussed on hospitalized patients with predominantly motor symptoms, whereas nonhospitalized patients and the
sensory or seizure subtypes of conversion disorder were less often
studied. Given the high rate of spontaneous remission, the absence
of control groups and randomized design is especially limiting, as
reports of positive treatment results may be explained by the
natural history of the illness (Couprie, Wijdicks, Rooijmans, & van
Gijn, 1995; Folks et al., 1984). There is a need for methodologically rigorous investigation of CBT in conversion disorder. This
should include a broader range of cognitive and behavioral strategies, applied to the different subtypes of conversion disorder and
in different treatment settings.
Somatization Disorder
Somatization disorder consists of a history of multiple medically
unexplained physical symptoms that occur over a period of several
Table 3
Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy for Conversion Disorder
Author
N/subtype
Design
Intervention and control groups
Treatment
duration (M)
Follow-up
(months)
Outcome
Inpatient treatment
Speed et al.,
1996
Delargy et al.,
1986
Dickes, 1974
Moene et al.,
1998
10/motor
Retrospective
6/motor
Case series
16/motor
or sensory
8/motor
Controlled
Case series
Stepwise ambulation, behavioral
reinforcement, stress management
Physiotherapy, behavioral
reinforcement
1. Strict behavioral program
2. Usual inpatient treatment
Physiotherapy, hypnosis,
problem-solving group, &
individual therapy
12 days
23.6
41 days
10
Variable,
unspecified
2 months
0
6
Normal gait in all subjects on
discharge, and 7/9 at follow-up
Ambulation recovered in all
subjects
Response rate: 1: 90%; 2: 45%
Recovery in 6 of 7 at discharge;
5 of 7 at follow-up
Outpatient treatment
Hafeiz, 1980
61/motor,
sensory or
seizure
Cohort
Hypnosis and somatic treatment
Variable,
unspecified
12
Acute response in all subjects,
sustained response in 49
818
LOOPER AND KIRMAYER
years (DSM–IV–TR; WHO, 1992). The onset must be prior to the
age of 30, and the symptoms must include at least four pain, two
gastrointestinal, one sexual, and one pseudoneurological complaints (DSM–IV–TR). Epidemiological studies using criteria
based on the DSM–III report prevalence rates of approximately 1.0%–1.4% in primary care patients (Kirmayer & Robbins,
1991; Simon & Gureje, 1999), and range from 0.05% to 0.4%
(Swartz, Blazer, George, & Landerman, 1986; Weissman, Myers,
& Harding, 1978) in community populations. The most common
symptoms are pain in various parts of the body (head, chest, back,
joints, pelvic), dysphagia, nausea, bloating, constipation, palpitations, dizziness, and shortness of breath (Liu, Clark, & Eaton,
1997). Somatic symptoms are strongly associated with general
psychological distress (Simon, Gater, Kisely, & Piccinelly, 1996),
as well as with comorbid mood and anxiety disorders (Swartz et
al., 1986; Wetzel, Guze, Cloninger, Martin, & Clayton, 1994).
Patients with somatization disorder are high users of medical
services including physician visits, hospitalizations, and surgical
procedures (Kent et al., 1995; G. R. Smith, 1994; G. R. Smith et
al., 1986), and in one study accounted for 20% of distressed,
frequent users of primary care services (Katon et al., 1990).
The generally recommended strategy for the clinical management of patients with somatization disorder is to identify one
medical professional (i.e., physician) who will integrate the patient’ s care. This medical professional schedules regular visits in
anticipation of health concerns, provides focused physical examinations in response to new physical complaints but limits investigations and somatic treatments, and addresses psychosocial issues (Bass & Benjamin, 1993). In two randomized studies,
researchers have investigated the benefit of sending a written
consultation letter to educate the referring physician about somatization disorder and recommend this type of management (Rost,
Kashner, & Smith, 1994; G. R. Smith et al., 1986). Smith et al.
(1986) randomized 41 patients with DSM–III somatization disorder, diagnosed with both clinical and structured interviews, to
receive a consultation letter or join a waitlist. Patients were followed at 3-month intervals by research assistants who were blind
to group assignment. The assessment included health care use, on
the basis of patient and insurance reports, and physical and psychological health using the Rand Health Status Measures (RAND).
Patients (Brook et al., 1979) whose physicians were provided with
a consultation letter had a 53% decrease in gross health care
expenditures over the subsequent months, which was largely due
to decreased hospitalization fees. No decrease in health costs was
observed in the control group, and no change in physical or
psychological status was seen in either group. Rost et al. (1994)
repeated the study with a larger sample size of 73 patients with
somatization disorder according to the DSM–III–R in an effort to
identify changes in outpatient costs, and physical and psychological functioning. Compared with controls, subjects in the intervention group had a 21% decrease in health care expenditures, improvement in physical functioning, but no significant difference in
psychological symptoms over the course of the year following the
consultation. A separate report describes the use of group therapy
following the consultation intervention (Kashner, Rost, Cohen,
Anderson, & Smith, 1995). Patients were randomly assigned either
to no treatment or to eight sessions of group therapy, which
focused on problem solving, coping, and promoting assertiveness
and emotional expression. There was variation in attendance in the
treatment group, including 20 of 44 subjects who did not attend
any sessions. Intent-to-treat analysis showed that patients randomized to the group therapy had a further 27% net saving in health
care costs, and also demonstrated significant improvements in both
physical and mental health as measured by the RAND (Brook et
al., 1979). The more sessions that were attended, the greater their
improvement in general and mental health. Another group therapy
study randomized 50 patients with somatization disorder to no
treatment or eight sessions of group CBT, focusing on education,
identifying and coping with stress, and relaxation exercises (Lidbeck, 1997). Patients were diagnosed using less stringent criteria
than the DSM (Classification Committee of WONCA, 1983). The
effect of group therapy was 0.67 at the end of treatment,
and 0.8 six months later, as measured by the Illness Behaviour
Questionnaire (Bradley, McDonald, & Jaworski, 1992). No
changes were seen in mood or anxiety symptoms. Although fairly
well described, neither group-therapy study used manuals or procedures to ensure consistent application of proposed techniques.
In summary, randomized controlled studies demonstrate that
consultation letters are effective in reducing the excessive and
costly help seeking associated with somatization disorder (see
Table 4) but do not improve the psychological distress of patients.
This may be because the object of intervention is not the patient
directly, but the treating physician. The effectiveness of intervening at the level of the care provider underscores the fact that illness
behavior is not an isolated process but occurs in a relational
context in which nonpatient factors should be part of the treatment
plan. Group therapy provided additional benefit not only in reducing health care costs, but also by improving psychological wellbeing. Although the effectiveness of group therapy for the treatment of somatization disorder has thus been demonstrated,
individual CBT treatment has not yet been investigated.
Undifferentiated Somatoform Disorder
Undifferentiated somatoform disorder is diagnosed when one or
more medically unexplained physical complaints persist for a
duration of at least 6 months and cause significant distress or
impairment (DSM–III–TR; WHO, 1992). This residual category
may apply to a broad range of patients seen in primary care where
medically unexplained symptoms account for 20%–50% of patient
visits (Katon & Walker, 1998; Kirmayer & Robbins, 1991; Peveler, Kilkenny, & Kinmonth, 1997). The most common medically
unexplained symptoms in primary care are chest pain, fatigue,
dizziness, headache, back pain, shortness of breath, insomnia, and
numbness (Kroenke & Price, 1993; Simon et al., 1996). Although
most unexplained symptoms resolve spontaneously, some develop
into clinical syndromes of persisting symptoms that interfere with
functioning. The result is a large number of patients with a wide
range of different somatic symptoms of variable severity that do
not meet the stringent criteria of somatization disorder (Hiller,
Rief, & Fichter, 1995; Katon et al., 1991).
G. R. Smith, Rost, and Kashner (1995) repeated their consultation intervention study, originally done with somatization disorder,
with patients with undifferentiated somatoform disorder. The study
included 56 patients reporting a lifetime history of 6 –12 medically
unexplained symptoms causing distress and help-seeking. The
investigators randomized referring physicians to no intervention or
to receive a consultation letter, as described in the previous sec-
819
SPECIAL ISSUE: APPROACHES TO SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
Table 4
Randomized Controlled Trial of Consultation Letter or Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Somatization Disorder
Author
N
Intervention and
control group
Sessions/
duration
Measure/
raters
Dropouts
(analysis)
Follow-up
(months)
Outcome
Consultation letter studies
G. R. Smith
et al.,
1986
41
1. Regular appointments,
limit interventions
2. No consultation
Self-report/
blind data
collectors
1 consult,
2 control,
(excluded)
18
Rost et al.,
1994
73
1. Regular appointments,
limit interventions
2. No consultation
Self-report/
blind data
collectors
1 consult,
2 control
(excluded)
12
Kashner et
al., 1995
70
Lidbeck,
1997
50
1. Consultation letter &
group therapy:
problem solving,
coping skills
2. Consultation letter
1. CBT: education,
relaxation, coping
skills, problem
solving
2. WL
53% decrease in health costs, no change in
physical or mental health in the
intervention group, no changes in the
control group
Intervention relative to control group: 21%
net decrease in health costs, improved
physical functioning, no change in mental
health
Group therapy studies
Note.
8/2 hr
Self-report/
blind data
collectors
20 CBT
(included)
12
8/3 hr
Self-report
1 CBT
(excluded)
6
Intervention relative to control group on
intent-to-treat analysis: 31% estimated net
savings in health care costs, improved
mental health, & physical functioning
Standardized mean difference [95% CI]
Posttreatment: 0.67 [0.07–1.27]
Follow-up: 0.80 [0.19–1.42]
WL waitlist; CI confidence interval.
tion. Over the 2-year follow-up period the researchers observed a
33% reduction in annual median medical costs and a small but
significant improvement in physical functioning of subjects in the
intervention group. No significant changes were seen in general
health, mental health, and social functioning, as measured by the
RAND (Brook et al., 1979), and no changes were observed in the
control condition.
Three randomized controlled studies have compared short-term
individual CBT with control conditions for the treatment of undifferentiated somatoform disorder. All three studies identified subjects by referrals from primary care physicians of patients for
whom psychological factors seemed to be underlying medically
unexplained symptoms. Of these three studies, one used a manual
(Sumathipala, Hewege, Hanwella, & Mann, 2000), and the other
two interventions were well described and structured. Speckens et
al. (1995) randomized 79 primary care patients to optimal medical
care or 6 –16 sessions of CBT, which included modifying dysfunctional automatic thoughts and conducting behavioral experiments
aimed at breaking the cycle of symptoms and their consequences.
73% of treated subjects compared with 59% of the control group
were rated as improved or recovered, and the effect of CBT as
measured by the Illness Behavior subscale of the Illness Attitudes
Scale was 0.54 at 6 months and 0.36 at 12-months follow-up.
Other benefits were seen in physical symptoms and social functioning, but no differences in symptoms of anxiety and depression.
A second study randomized 68 patients, reporting at least five
medically unexplained symptoms, to six sessions of CBT or usual
medical care (Sumathipala et al., 2000). Therapy consisted of
symptom monitoring, increasing awareness of the psychological
component of the disorder, symptom reattribution, and reducing
unnecessary consultations and procedures. Intent-to-treat analysis
revealed greater improvements in general distress, somatic com-
plaints, and physician visits in the treated group at the end of the
intervention. A third study randomized 82 patients to either a
6-week wait-list, or treatment involving meditation and selfobservation in which identified patterns of moods and behaviors
are modified (McLeod, Budd, & McClelland, 1997). The effect of
this intervention was 0.43 at the end of treatment, as measured by
the Symptom Checklist–90 –Revised somatization subscore. Ratings of anxiety and depression were also decreased in the therapy
group, and all changes were maintained at 6-months follow-up.
However, the results of this study may be biased by a large number
of dropouts from the treated group who were not included in the
analysis.
Cognitive behavioral treatments of somatization have also been
delivered in a group format. One study used a randomized controlled design to compare two group CBT treatments with an
attention control involving two 30-min sessions of information of
the effects of stress (Hellman, Budd, Borysenko, McClelland, &
Benson, 1990). The two CBT treatments were a “ mind/body”
group focused on relaxation, and a “ ways-to-wellness” group,
which used self-observation to change patterns of mood and behavior. The treatment effect, as measured by the Medical Symptom Checklist, was 0.38 and 0.88, respectively. There was also a
significantly greater reduction in psychological discomfort and
visits to physicians in the 6 months following the intervention. The
greater benefit seen in the ways-to-wellness group may have been
due to specifically addressing identified patterns of problematic
behaviors, whereas the mind/body group seemed to address stress
in general through relaxation.
Although most treatment studies have focused on outpatient
populations, the severity of symptoms and degree of disability in
undifferentiated somatoform disorders occasionally require inpatient treatment. Ehlert, Wagner, and Lupke (1999) compared 21
820
LOOPER AND KIRMAYER
somatizing patients treated with usual inpatient care with the same
number of patients treated with a CBT program. This program
included daily 1-hr therapy sessions using strategies such as education, modifying attributions, behavioral analysis, relaxation
training, and stress provocation exercises. The CBT intervention
had a greater reduction of somatic complaints and depression, a
more positive outlook, and an increased motivation for treatment.
Research on the treatment of medically unexplained symptoms
(see Table 5) provides further evidence that consultations alone
may result in reductions in health care costs by changing the
management of patients, but that the effect on psychological parameters seems limited. Three randomized controlled studies demonstrate that individual CBT is effective in reducing somatic
symptoms, with effect sizes in the moderate range. The magnitude
of this effect is smaller than that seen for CBT in other somatoform
disorders, which may be due to the high rates of spontaneous
remission in the control groups (Speckens et al., 1995; Sumathipala et al., 2000). This indicates the need for appropriate patient
selection, on the basis of a greater knowledge of predictors of both
symptom persistence and suitability for therapy. Future studies
may also investigate the specificity of this effect using attention
control groups. The efficacy of group CBT for the treatment of
undifferentiated somatoform disorder, demonstrated in one study,
requires replication.
Functional Somatic Syndromes
Many specific constellations of somatic symptoms are recognized by medical specialists (Barsky & Borus, 1999; Wessely,
Nimnuan, & Sharpe, 1999). These disorders are sometimes collectively referred to as functional somatic syndromes (Kirmayer &
Robbins, 1991). Depending on current diagnostic fashions and the
availability of etiological explanations, they may also be categorized as undifferentiated somatoform disorders (Kirmayer &
Taillefer, 1997). Although functional somatic syndromes are found
in many areas of medicine, this article only reviews the literature
of chronic fatigue syndrome and noncardiac chest pain as examples of conditions for which CBT interventions have been developed and investigated.
Noncardiac Chest Pain
A high proportion of patients seeking help in emergency departments for chest pain are discharged with reassurance that investigations are normal (Karlson, Wiklund, Bengtson, & Herlitz, 1994;
Wulsin & Yingling, 1991). A study of outpatients attending a
cardiology clinic found that approximately half did not receive a
medical diagnosis to explain their chest pain (Mayou, Bryant,
Clark, & Forfar, 1994). Anxiety or depression was found in one-
Table 5
Randomized Controlled Trials of Consultation Letter or Cognitive–Behavioral Treatment (CBT) of Undifferentiated Somatoform
Disorder: Medically Unexplained Symptoms
Author, year
N
Intervention and control groups
Sessions/duration
Measure/
raters
Dropouts
(analysis)
Follow-up
Outcome: standardized
mean difference [95% CI]
Consultation letter study
G. R. Smith
et al., 1995
56
1. Consultation letter: regular
appointments, limited medical
interventions
2. No letter of consultation
Self-report/
blind data
collectors
2 (included)
2 years
33% reduction of medical
costs in the
intervention group,
no change in the
control group
6 & 12
months
6 months: 0.54
[0.07–1.01]
12 months: 0.36
[0.11–0.84]
Posttreatment: 0.43
[0.01–0.87]
Change maintained on
follow-up in the
CBT group
Intent-to-treat data:
greater improvement
in the treated group
Individual therapy studies
Speckens et al.,
1995
79
1. CBT: cognitive restructuring,
behavioral experiments
2. Optimal medical care
M 12
Self-report
2 CBT
(included)
McLeod et al.,
1997
82
1. CBT: self-observation, changing
problematic behavioral patterns
2. WL
6
Self-report
6 months
13 CBT
1 WL
(excluded)
Sumathipala
et al., 2000
68
1. CBT: cognitive restructuring,
modifying illness behavior
2. Usual medical care
6/30 min
Self-report
10 CBT
13 control
(included)
none
Group therapy study
Hellman et al.,
1990
80
1. MBT: meditation and relaxation
2. WTW: self-observation,
modifying patterns of mood and
behavior
3. SME
MBT & WTW:
6/90 min
SME: 2/90 min
Self-report
5 control
6 months
6 MBT
5 WTW
(excluded)
Follow-upa:
MBT 0.38
[0.26–1.01]
WTW 0.88
[0.23–1.52]
Note. WL waitlist; MBT mind–body therapy; WTW ways to wellness; SME stress management education; CI confidence interval.
a
Mean and standard deviation of change scores were used.
821
SPECIAL ISSUE: APPROACHES TO SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
third of the noncardiac chest pain patients in this study, and most
continued to report symptoms and distress when reassessed 6
months later.
Three randomized controlled studies have investigated CBT for
noncardiac chest pain. CBT involved reattribution regarding the
cause of chest pain, correcting cognitive distortions such as catastrophizing, relaxation and breathing exercises, physical activity,
and stress management. The CBT was well structured in all studies, but a therapy manual was used in only one (Van PeskiOosterbaan et al., 1999). Patients were identified by persistent
chest pain in spite of a normal cardiological assessment and
investigations; however, these studies did not use standardized
diagnostic criteria. Klimes, Mayou, Pearce, Coles, and Fagg
(1990) randomized 35 patients referred from a cardiology clinic to
CBT or assessment only. After a mean of 7.2 sessions, they found
a reduction in chest pain, functional limitations, and psychological
distress in the CBT group, with no changes in the control group.
After the assessment-only group was crossed over to receive CBT,
66% of subjects had fewer than four episodes of pain per week
after treatment, an improvement that was maintained 4 –6 months
later. These positive findings were replicated in a more recent
randomized controlled study (Mayou et al., 1997) that investigated
the effectiveness of the intervention by randomizing 37 consecutive (rather than referred) patients who were diagnosed with noncardiac chest pain from a cardiology clinic. Similar differences
were seen in this study, with 56% of patients completing the CBT
group reporting symptomatic improvement compared with slower
and less striking changes in the control group. Greater improvements were seen in activity limitations but not in general psychological distress. In intent-to-treat analysis, the effect size based on
symptoms severity reports at the end of treatment was 0.83, which
decreased to 0.27 at 3-months follow-up. The reduction in the
effect size was not due to deterioration in the treatment group but
to spontaneous remissions in the controls. The investigators observed dropouts and refusals to participate in the study because
patients objected to the suggestion that psychological factors might
be related to their condition, which represents an important barrier
to care that may be reduced by addressing it early in treatment.
Van Peski-Oosterbaan et al. (1999) randomized 72 noncardiac
chest pain patients to receive CBT or treatment as usual. Complete
resolution of chest pain was reported in 15 of 31 (48%) patients
who received a mean of nine sessions of CBT as compared with 4
of 33 (13%) patients receiving the usual medical treatment. Greater
improvements were seen in physical limitations, mood, and anxiety symptoms in the CBT group. The effect size at 9-months
follow-up was 0.83, based on reports of frequency of chest pain.
The investigators found that reduction in chest pain was associated
with a change in attribution of pain from cardiac illness to stress.
One randomized controlled study investigated CBT in a group
format (Potts, Lewin, Fox, & Johnstone, 1999). Sixty subjects
were randomly assigned to a waitlist or six 2-hr sessions in groups
of up to 6 subjects. Treated subjects reported reduced chest pain,
and improvements in mood, anxiety, and physical functioning,
which were maintained at 6-months follow-up. The investigators
noted that subjects who maintained beliefs that their pain was of
cardiac origin had fewer pain free days after treatment.
In summary, three randomized controlled studies support the use
of individual CBT for the treatment of noncardiac chest pain (see
Table 6). The magnitude of change compared with no-treatment or
usual-treatment controls was large at the termination of CBT. One
study indicates the possible effectiveness of group CBT. Several
reports suggest that strict attribution of pain to cardiac causes is a
barrier to care, a negative prognostic indicator, and therefore must
be a central focus for change in therapy.
Table 6
Randomized Controlled Trials of Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Undifferentiated Somatoform Disorder:
Noncardiac Chest Pain
Author, year
N
Intervention and control groups
Klimes et al.,
1990
35
Mayou et al.,
1997
37
Van PeskiOosterbaan
et al., 1999
72
1. CBT: cognitive restructuring,
problem solving, relaxation,
breathing exercises
2. NT: crossed over to CBT
1. CBT: cognitive restructuring,
problem solving, relaxation,
breathing exercises
2. NT
1. CBT: cognitive restructuring,
breathing exercises,
relaxation, coping skills
2. UT
Sessions/
duration
Measures/
raters
Dropouts
(analysis)
Follow-up
(months)
Outcome: standardized
mean difference [95% CI]
Individual therapy studies
M 7.2
Blind raters
1 CBT
1 NT
(excluded)
4–6
Posttreatment: Significant
differences between groups
Follow-up: both improved
12
Self-report
5 CBT
7 NT
(included)
3
Posttreatment: 0.83 [0.15–1.50]
Follow-up: 0.27 [0.38–0.92]
M9
Self-report
5 CBT
2 UT
(excluded)
9
Follow-up: 0.82 [0.30–1.33]
2 CBT
2 WL
(excluded)
6
Posttreatment: Significant
symptomatic improvement in
CBT compared with WL
Follow-up: both improved
Group therapy study
Potts et al.,
1999
Note.
60
1. CBT
2. WL: crossed over
6/2 hr
Self-report
CI confidence interval; NT no treatment; UT usual treatment; WL waitlist.
822
LOOPER AND KIRMAYER
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome is characterized by disabling fatigue
and a variety of nonspecific symptoms (Fukuda et al., 1994), such
as myalgia, arthralgia, lymphadenopathy, impaired memory, and
headache. Persistent fatigue is a fairly common problem, with a
lifetime prevalence of approximately 23% in a community population (Price, North, Wessely, & Fraser, 1992), and 11.3% point
prevalence in primary care (Wessely, Chalder, Hirsch, Wallace, &
Wright, 1997). However, when more restrictive case definition
criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome are used, the prevalence of
the full syndrome is reported to be 2.6% of primary care patients
(Wessely et al., 1997), and much less in the community
(Kawakami, Iwata, Fujihara, & Kitamura, 1998; Price et al., 1992).
Chronic fatigue syndrome is associated with psychological distress
(Pawlikowska et al., 1995), comorbid psychiatric disorders (Wessely, Chalder, Hirsch, Wallace, & Wright, 1996), considerable
disability (Bombardier & Buchwald, 1996), and economic loss
(Lloyd & Pender, 1992).
Three RCTs have investigated the efficacy of short-term individual CBT for chronic fatigue syndrome (see Table 7). Each study
used standardized diagnostic criteria to select subjects. Therapy
manuals guided the treatment, which consisted of cognitive strategies to modify negative thoughts and develop an active approach
in problem solving, combined with graded exercise to recover
physical functioning that had decreased due to avoidance in response to symptoms. Two studies reported a positive effect with
CBT. Sharpe et al. (1996) randomized 60 patients to usual treatment or 16 sessions of CBT. The difference in outcome, measured
as an endpoint score greater than 80 on the Karnofsky scale of
physical functioning (Grieco & Long, 1984; Karnofsky, Abelmann, Craver, & Burchenal, 1948), between the two groups was
small at the end of treatment but widened over the course of the
follow-up. With all patients assessed at 7-months follow-up, a
satisfactory outcome was found in 73% of patients treated with
CBT as compared with 27% of those who had received usual
treatment, giving an odds ratio of 7.56. Deale, Chalder, Marks, and
Wessely (1997) randomized 60 patients to 13 sessions of CBT or
relaxation training. A satisfactory outcome was defined as a 50point increase or endpoint score greater than 83 on the physical
functioning scale of the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form
General Health Survey (Stewart, Hays, & Ware, 1988). In intentto-treat analysis at 6-months follow-up, 70% of the CBT group
reported a good outcome as compared with 19% in the relaxation
intervention, giving an odds ratio of 8.64. There was also a greater
improvement in depression and general psychological symptoms
in the CBT subjects.
The third randomized controlled study investigated CBT and
dialyzable leukocyte extract (DLE), an immunological treatment,
administered in eight, biweekly intramuscular injections. Lloyd et
al. (1993) randomized 90 patients to one of four groups: CBT and
DLE, CBT and placebo, clinic visits and DLE, and clinic visits and
placebo. CBT consisted of six sessions of variable duration, lasting
30 –60 min each. No differences between groups were seen on the
Karnofsky scale, or on a measure of depression at 3-months
follow-up. This lack of difference may have been due to a lack of
sufficient statistical power to detect a difference between CBT and
an attention control group, or an insufficient number of sessions,
which averaged less than half of that provided in the studies with
positive findings (Deale et al., 1997; Sharpe et al., 1996). A lack
of effect was also reported in a nonrandomized, controlled study
comparing no treatment with group CBT (Friedberg & Krupp,
1994). The therapy consisted of six sessions involving relaxation,
cognitive restructuring of negative thoughts, and reducing social
and occupational activity due to illness. In this study, the lack of
response may be due to the group setting, the limited number of
sessions, or the emphasis on reducing activity in contrast to the
studies reporting positive results with graded increases in activity.
The latter possibility is supported by reports of greater efficacy of
Table 7
Randomized Controlled Trials of Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy (CBT) of Undifferentiated Somatoform Disorder:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Intervention and control groups
Sessions/
duration
Measures/
raters
Dropouts
(analysis)
Follow-up
(months)
Author, year
N
Sharpe et
al., 1996
60
1. CBT with graded activity
2. UT
16/60 min
Blind raters
0
7
Deale et al.,
1997
60
1. CBT with graded activity
2. RT
13
Self-report
3 CBT, 4 RT
(included)
6
Fulcher &
White,
1997
66
1. AE: graded aerobic exercise
2. FE: flexibility exercises &
relaxation, crossed over to AE
12
Self-report
4 AE, 3 FE
(included)
12
Lloyd et al.,
1993
90
1. CBT with graded activity and DLE
2. CBT with graded activity and
placebo
3. Clinic visits and DLE
4. Clinic visits and placebo
6/30–60
min
Self-report
1 (Group 3)
1 (Group 4)
(excluded)
3
Outcome odds ratio [95% CI]
Individual therapy studies
Good outcome at follow-up
CBT 73%; control 27%
7.56 [2.41–23.75]
Good outcome at follow-up
CBT 63%; RT 17%
8.64 [2.57–29.07]
Good outcome posttreatment
AE 52%; FE 27%
2.72 [1.02–7.24]
Maintained at follow-up
No significant differences
Note. CI confidence interval; UT usual treatment; RT relaxation therapy; AE aerobic exercise; FE flexibility exercises; DLE dialyzable
leukocyte extract (immunologic therapy).
SPECIAL ISSUE: APPROACHES TO SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
graded aerobic exercise in comparison to flexibility exercises and
relaxation (Fulcher & White, 1997).
In summary, the use of individual CBT for the treatment of CFS
is supported by two randomized controlled studies, one of which
used an active treatment for a control group. The CBT in the
studies reporting negative results was considerably shorter in
length, which may explain the lack of effect. All successful CBT
interventions involved graded activity. A comparison between
graded exercise with and without additional CBT strategies would
establish the additional effect of CBT. One possible benefit may be
inferred from reports of high rates of refusal and dropout in
exercise treatments (Butler, Chalder, Ron, & Wessely, 1991;
Wearden et al., 1998), and the observation that strong initial
attribution of the condition to strictly physical causes is associated
with a poor prognosis (Butler et al., 1991). Cognitive strategies
may improve retention of patients by addressing negative expectations and discouragement during treatment, and may improve
outcome by modifying attribution.
Discussion
Over the last decade, considerable progress has been made in
establishing the efficacy of CBT for the treatment of somatoform
disorders. Randomized controlled studies support the efficacy of
individual CBT for the treatment of hypochondriasis, BDD, medically unexplained symptoms, and functional somatic syndromes
such as noncardiac chest pain and chronic fatigue syndrome. The
efficacy of group CBT has been demonstrated in BDD and somatization disorder, whereas single studies support the possible
efficacy of group CBT in the treatment of medically unexplained
symptoms and noncardiac chest pain. These CBT interventions
produced moderate to large magnitudes of effect. Given the lack of
effective medication for most of these conditions, CBT should be
considered the first line treatment for somatoform disorders.
The optimal and minimal duration of effective CBT, and the
value of maintenance therapy for somatoform disorders have not
been established. The duration of CBT in the studies reviewed
ranged from 6 to 16 sessions. Two studies offering fewer sessions
(Dworkin & Kerr, 1987; Lloyd et al., 1993) reported less or no
treatment effect, while the use of a maintenance program was
found to lower the rate of relapse (McKay, 1999).
There is some evidence that CBT strategies directed at specific
characteristics of the condition are more effective than treatments
with a broader or more general focus, such as relaxation training or
stress management (Clark et al., 1998; Deale et al., 1997; Hellman
et al., 1990). Furthermore, there may be specific effects of different cognitive behavioral strategies. Cognitive strategies targeting
the specific thought processes of hypochondriasis (e.g. correcting
the misinterpretation of bodily sensations and reattributing sensations to nonmedical causes) had a more rapid and larger effect than
the behavioral interventions of ERP (Visser & Bouman, 2001).
Consultations letters to physicians referring patients with somatization disorders (Rost et al., 1994; G. R. Smith et al., 1986, 1995)
reduced health care cost but had little effect on psychological
distress, which was successfully reduced by the addition of group
therapy (Kashner et al., 1995).
Most studies in this review used multiple treatment strategies,
which limits the detection of differential treatment effects. It is also
likely that there is a high degree of interaction between the various
823
processes that contribute to symptom formation and maintenance,
which complicates the study of isolated mechanisms. Future research on the specific effects of different interventions would help
clinicians construct treatment plans based on the selection of
effective interventions that target the most prominent factors underlying and maintaining somatoform disorders (see Figure 1).
The existing CBT treatment research literature on somatoform
disorders has a number of important methodological limitations.
Many studies have not used attention controls as comparison
groups, standardized treatment manuals, blind ratings of outcome,
and methods of data analysis that take dropouts into account. Many
studies report the outcome of treatment groups at follow-up, but
few continued a comparison group through the follow-up period.
The studies included in this article used standard diagnostic criteria, valid outcome measures, and a few studies (Mayou et al.,
1997; Speckens et al., 1995), but only a few, investigated the
effectiveness of interventions in unselected clinical populations by
randomizing consecutive patients with medically unexplained
symptoms presenting to a medical clinic, rather than patients
referred to a psychiatric clinic. Although a wide range of outcome
measures has been used, the most informative studies use multiple
measures, including symptom severity of primary and comorbid
diagnoses, functional disability, health care use, and financial cost.
Future research should explore the effect of individual CBT for
somatization disorder, both individual and group CBT for conversion disorder, and investigate the use of CBT in other functional
somatic syndromes. Where CBT has already been established as an
effective treatment, the specific effect of particular therapeutic
strategies may be the focus of investigation. Comparisons should
be made to identify the relative benefits of individual and group
format, different lengths of therapy, and the use of emerging
psychopharmacological treatments of somatoform disorders (Escobar, 1996; Hollander et al., 1999; Noyes et al., 1998; Phillips,
Dwight, & McElroy, 1998) alone or in combination with CBT.
Researchers and clinicians should be encouraged by the results
of the last decade of research on the treatment of somatoform
disorders, which have often been considered refractory or resistant
to therapeutic interventions. The challenge of the next decade will
be to refine and expand our knowledge of CBT treatments of
somatoform disorders, and to make these treatments practical for
health care providers and accessible to patients.
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Received April 1, 2001
Revision received October 1, 2001
Accepted October 15, 2001